Jane
by Lizzi Browning
Summary: Jane's history.
1. Chapter 1

1200 A.D 

Ana looked out of the lone window in their small cottage, and saw the dawn fast approaching. She quickly rose out of bed, pulled her overdress on, and padded outside, barefoot. Her older, and only, sister, Jane, heard her arise, and was walking beside her before Ana had reached the gate. The elder sister looked closely at Ana, and found her to be attempting to wipe away tears. She put her arm around the sobbing girl. No words passed between them. But what could be said? All was lost now. Ana was being shipped off to be married to a man she had never spoken to, and seen only once. No more walks at dawn, no more late night conversations with Jane, no more of Father's quiet stoniness. Ana was leaving every thing she had known for a desperate, horrid life in London with her soon-to-be husband, a cruel man called Henry Ogden.

After a few more minutes of crying, Jane took her sister's arm and gently guided her towards the small cottage. "It will be alright Ana, I'll visit every week, I'll even come stay with you, if you would like." Ana brightened after that. "Really?" "Sure, of course dear. I don't know what I would do without you Ana." Jane started a fire, and put a pot of water on to boil. "You'll need to wash, Ana. You're filthy." "So are you," Ana grumbled. Ana looked at Jane's pocked marked face for a moment. Her sister had once been very beautiful, but then the pox struck. She survived, but at a price. She was disfigured now, and scorned throughout the entire village. She wore a veil every time she left the cottage, which was never very often. Ana wished she could give her sister her own face. Many called Ana very beautiful. With her large blue eyes, perfect, pale skin, childlike features, and long brown hair that cascaded down her back in flowing locks, Ana supposed that it was so, but had never really paid mind to it until the day that Henry came.

He arrived in a carriage so large and ornate that it made the small cottage look ugly and tinier than it already was. He knocked on the door, and Ana answered it. She made a deep curtsy, and asked what assistance she could give. He asked for her father, Isaac. She fetched him from the garden, and the two men stayed inside talking for many hours while Jane and Ana tried their best to eavesdrop. When Henry finally did leave, Ana opened the door for him. He looked at her like she was a piece of meat. She quickly dropped her gaze, but he forcefully grabbed her chin, and made her look up at him. "You are very beautiful, my darling, but make sure you are clean before I set eyes on you again or there shall be…consequences." He dropped her chin, and walked out the door. She sunk to the floor, shaking. Her father came behind her, and delivered the news. That was the day she thought that things could get no worse. How very wrong she was.


	2. Chapter 2

Ana was waiting outside, clean, with hair brushed and braided into one long, neat plait on her back. Her overdress and chemise were freshly laundered, and she wore her only pair of shoes on her feet. It was only moments later when a carriage pulled up, and out stepped Henry Ogden. Ana and Jane gave deep curtsies. Henry looked at his bride-to-be speculatively. "Well, it's certainly an improvement, but don't worry, I'll have you fixed up in no time. "Sir," said Ana quietly, "may my sister Jane come to stay after we are married? I think it would greatly boost my spirits. Please, sir, if it is not too much trouble." Henry looked from Ana to her veiled sister, and back to Ana. "If it pleases you, she may come to stay in a fortnight. But come, I am needed back in town by nightfall. Say your goodbyes." He then walked back inside the carriage. The two sisters embraced quickly, and Isaac stepped out of the shadows to hug his daughter. Then she was gone, never to return.

(Two days later)

Ana had been scrubbed, primped, and given new clothes. Now, when she looked at her face in the mirror (something that she had never seen before) she didn't recognize herself. The lavish clothing, the cheeks with rouge, the hair braided neatly then twisted up into a bun. She was now standing across from her soon to be husband, the Priest standing in front of them, speaking in Latin, as was traditional for masses. He switched to English. He said to Henry, "Do you take this woman, Ana Elizabeth Rowle, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to provide and care for all your days on this earth?" Henry answered back, "I do." As the priest spoke towards her, all Ana could focus on was the fact that the priest's voice was shaky, and his jowls quivered whenever he spoke. It was this she was thinking of when she said, "I do." Then that was it. She was married. Legally bonded to a man she barely knew.

(A week later)

Ana sulked in her room. She was desperate to leave the house. She was bored, and lonely. The only times she ever saw her husband were the brief hours when he wasn't away, and decided to come see her in her chambers. She dreaded this more than being alone. What she really wanted was her sister. She missed Jane more than she thought was possible, and a sharp pang went through her chest every time she thought of her sister. Her husband came to her that night. "Sir?" "Yes, Ana?" "May I send for my sister now? I am desperately lonely, and would greatly appreciate the company." He said nothing. "Please, sir, please." "No, you may not. You need to learn how things work around here." He began to get angrier. "You will not learn this with your sister here. Know this: you will never see that horrible, disfigured thing ever again, and do not ask again." He yelled the last few words, and quickly strode out of the door, and a few moments later, Ana heard the click of the lock in the door. She ran to the door and tried the handle, only to find that it couldn't move. She collapsed on the floor and began to sob, mourning her sister.

(One month later)

Ana was finally used to her new life. A servant would come and unlock her door at 7 o'clock, and assist her with her dress, hair, and rouge. She would then follow the servant to the small dining room where she would receive her breakfast. Ana only ever picked at it. She then was lead around the courtyard for a walk, and met with her tutor for three hours. When Henry Ogden had found that she did not know how to read, he promptly decided to rectify the situation, and called in a tutor. She learned how to read and write quickly, and as if it came to her naturally. She began to read books, and quickly. They were her life. Through them, she traveled beyond the confines of the manor, and learned about far off, foreign lands that Ana would never see herself. She was perusing the library one day, when she came across a book that looked ancient. It's binding was leather, faded, cracked, and worn. She pulled it down from the shelf, and began to read. It was full of myths, legends, and stories, very frightening. Ana quickly shut the book and replaced it on the shelf.


	3. Chapter 3

There soon came a time when books were not enough. She could spend the day in the library, but the words would never fill her up like a simple conversation. She was desperate for escape. But how would it work? She was only a woman, and Ana had no idea how to get back to the home she so desperately desired and needed. This was what she was thinking when two short raps came on her window, out of the dark. She saw a slight figure, hooded and cloaked. She opened the window. It was with great relief that she saw that the figure that stood there was none other than Jane! Ana stood there in astonishment. "Sister? Jane? Can it really be you?" The face behind the veil smiled. "Yes! I was worried when you never sent for me. What has happened?" "Oh, come in out of the night, Jane, first, and I'll get you something to eat. Then I shall tell you all that has occurred." Ana helped her sister climb her way into her quarters' (which was not an easy feat in a dress, hood, veil, and cloak.) She sent for a servant to bring weak ale and some bread and meat. Then the two sisters sat on Ana's bed. "Really? Did it hurt?" asked Jane. "Yes, a bit, more than I thought. But that is the least of our concerns. He is absolutely horrible! The only good thing that has happened to me was learning to read and write, it really has opened a whole new world up to me!" Then there came screams. Horrible, bloodcurdling screams.

Ana and Jane looked at each other. Jane's face turned white as the blood drained from her face. "What is it Ana?" She asked. "I know not. Quiet." Ana got up from the bed and crept towards the door and opened it just a bit. She looked from the hallway into the sitting room. She saw the tall figure of a man, dressed in worn, travel weary clothes, stooped over Henry. He stayed fixed in that position for a few moments, then stood up, and threw the lifeless body to the ground. The man turned around, and Ana saw his face. There was blood dripping from his lips, drops of rubies sliding down onto his white neck. Ana gasped at the sight. Then, more screams, from another part of the manor. Ana quickly shut the door, and froze. "What is it?" Jane asked in a whisper. "I-I think," Ana somehow managed to force out, "I think it is a vampire."

Jane froze as well. Then, footsteps. Horrible, menacing footsteps. Ana quickly moved to Jane's side. The doorknob turned, and the door opened revealing something more terrible and lovely than they thought imaginable. There were two of them, both with snow-white hair. They had skin almost as white as their hair. The first one smiled menacingly, and moved forward a step. But then the second one put his hand on the first's shoulder, and said something in a foreign language. The first looked and Ana, then at Jane, and then at the second. The first stepped towards Ana, and seized her, then threw her over his shoulders. Ana watched, kicking and screaming from her captor's back, as the second thing put his blood-stained lips to Jane's neck, and bit down. She watched as the blood slowly left her sister's body, turning paler and paler, until she was nearly as white as the thing taking her life away. She watched as the second thing dropped her sister's lifeless corpse, and heard a horrible scream; not realizing it was coming from her own throat. She felt tears dripping down her face, and found that she was sobbing without control over her actions. Then she was flying on the back of her captor, flying far, far away, never to return. Ana thought that this was the end.


	4. Chapter 4

But it was not the end. The beautiful and terrible creature stopped flying and they were in a cave. Ana was placed on a cold stone floor. Then the voices of the two, seemingly arguing. Then, pain. Immense pain. Pain so horrible and indescribable, she could do nothing but think about it. It was a burning pain. There was no sense of time. She was no longer human. And then, a pain erupted in her mind so great, she could not contain it. She looked up, and saw the face of the creature. She smiled, and the creature crumpled. The creature was in pain. That was good. That was very good. She delighted in the creature's pain, delighted in the fact that she was the cause of that pain. And she kept on smiling.

What could have been a few moments, or perhaps a few hours, passed. The girl sat up. She knew not what, who, or where she was. She looked at her surroundings, taking them in with a cold calculating glance. She quickly stood up. The two creatures in the cave with her also stood. "Who are you?" One of them asked in heavily accented English. The girl smiled. The white-haired creature crumpled, and, once again, she felt a wonderful rush of euphoria and power at the sight of his pain. She released him, and, as she strode out of the cave said in a loud voice: "I am Jane."

**_Author's Note: Sorry this is so short, but I'll post a new chapter soon, if anyone's reading this…_**

-Lizzi Browning


End file.
